Mohamed Benaissa ( ar, محمد بن عيسى; born 3 January 1937) is a Moroccan politician who was

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

of Morocco from 1999 to 2007.

Early life and education

Benaissa was born on 3 January 1937 in

Asilah Asilah (; ar, أزيلا or أصيلة; pt, Arzila; es, Arcila) is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about south of Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact. History The town's history da ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in communications from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

in 1963, which also awarded him an honorary

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in 2007.

Career

After studying at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, Benaissa went on to serve the United Nations and the UN

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

for approximately eleven years, first as press attache to the UN Moroccan Mission in New York (1965), then as information officer at the UN headquarters in New York and in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

(1965–1967), regional information adviser for Africa at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in

Accra, Ghana Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

(1967–1971), communications adviser for the FAO at Rome (1961–1974), director of the information division at the same (1974–1976), and finally as Assistant-

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

at the UN

World Food Conference The first World Food Conference was held in Rome in 1974 (5-16 November) by the United Nations under the auspices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in the wake of the devastating famine in Bangladesh in the preceding two years. ...

(1974–1975). Benaissa returned to

to become Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

for the city of

from 1977 to 1983, and then

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Asilah in 1984, a position to which he has been reelected three times up to 2010. From 1977 to 1985 he served as chief editor to ''Al Mithaq'' (Arabic) and ''Al Maghrib'' (French) dailies, the newspapers of the Rassemblement National des Indépendants (RNI) party to which he then belonged. Benaissa was the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

from 1985 to 1992, and the Moroccan Ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

from 1993 to 1999. In April 1999, King

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People * Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

appointed Benaissa to the position of

just three months before the former's death. Benaissa remained in his position under Hassan's successor,

King Mohammed VI Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moh ...

, until he was replaced by Foreign Minister Delegate Taieb Fassi Fihri in the government formed on 15 October 2007 under

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Abbas El Fassi Abbas El Fassi (; ar, عباس الفاسي; born 18 September 1940) was Moroccan politician and businessman, prime minister of Morocco from 19 September 2007 to 29 November 2011. El Fassi, a member of the Istiqlal Party, replaced independent D ...

Books and recognition

Benaissa is author (with Tahar Benjelloun) of "Grains de Peau" (1974) and of essays and papers on development and communications. In 1989

was recipient of the

Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the field ...

for the urban development project. In 2010, Benaissa won the

Sheikh Zayed Book Award The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award begun in the UAE. It is presented yearly to "Arab writers, intellectuals, publishers as well as young talent whose writings and translations of humanities have scholarly and objectively enriched Arab ...

"Culture Personality of the Year", an award worth about $300,000.

Aboubakr Jamaï defamation suit

In April 2000, Benaissa filed a defamation lawsuit against editors Aboubakr Jamaï and Ali Amar of the Moroccan news weekly ''

Le Journal Hebdomadaire ''Le Journal Hebdomadaire'' (French for ''The Weekly Journal''; often shortened to ''Le Journal Hebdo'') was a French-language, Moroccan weekly magazine, published between 1997 and 2010.Sylvain MouillardAu Maroc, le «Journal hebdomadaire» je ...

'' for a 1999 series of articles alleging that Benaissa had profited from the sale of an official residence during his tenure as Ambassador to the United States. Jamaï later speculated that Benaissa "was waiting for a signal" to attack the papers and that he saw his opportunity following the announcement of a government ban. In 2001, the pair were found guilty, and sentenced to pay damages to Benaissa of 2 million dirhams (US$200,000). In addition, Jamaï was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, and Amar to two months. Reporters Without Borders sided with the editors, however, immediately calling for the Moroccan Justice Minister to overturn the verdict and asserting that "Fines should not be used by the authorities with the aim of halting the appearance or publication of a media".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benaissa, Mohamed 1937 births People from Asilah Living people Columbia University alumni University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni Government ministers of Morocco Ambassadors of Morocco Ambassadors of Morocco to the United States Foreign ministers of Morocco Moroccan officials of the United Nations National Rally of Independents politicians

Early life and education

Career

Books and recognition

Aboubakr Jamaï defamation suit

See also

References